The objectives of the MBRS Program at the University of Texas Pan American (UTPA) at Edinburg are (1) To create and support a biomedical research environment at one of the largest predominantly Hispanic institutions in North America; (2) To attract students at UTPA into research career through high level experience in ongoing research; and (3) To provide useful data and vital information on questions of biomedical importance in a number of disciplines including biology, chemistry, psychology, sociology and dietetics. Eight projects are included in this competing continuation of MBRS Program at UTPA. Two projects in Biology are continuations, one involving studies on toxicokinetics and biotransformation of widely used aliphatic dinitriles that are known to be potentially toxic chemicals; and the other project studies genetic structure of disease carrying tick cell lines with an intent of developing means of biologic control. One project in Chemistry is continuation involving synthesis of organosulfur compounds with platelet aggregation properties. A new project in Chemistry investigates the role of glutathione transferase in developing drug resistance. There are two new projects in Sociology. One is a longitudinal population-based study of Hispanics that examines functional status and physical and social risk factors that influence the functional status, and the other project addresses the social issue of over- population at the global level in general and Hispanic population in particular. One project from Psychology is continuation involving measurement of associations between quality of home environment, parent's needs, child medical factors, personality/social development and developmental abilities of 4-year old children. A new project in dietetics attempts to elucidate the relationship between the presentation of cardiovascular risk factors and/or diagnosed cardiovascular disease in biological parents of "at-risk" children.